Sermons
November 5, 2017
The Gospel readings for three Sundays, from the gospel of Matthew, were full of conflict between Jesus and Jewish religious leaders. In those gospel readings, the Pharisees and Sadducees tried several times to entrap Jesus, but he easily slipped their trap. In the gospel reading of today, Matt.23:1-36, Jesus turns to the crowds and his disciples addressing the spiritual failure of the scribes and Pharisees. He says that the scribes and Pharisees “sat on Moses’ seat”. Moses, of course, was the great lawgiver. Sitting on Moses’ seat means teaching by Moses’ authority—the highest authority available to a teacher of the law. Jesus acknowledges and tells his disciples “whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do”. That means that in spite of their personal failings, these scribes and Pharisees are stewards over a great spiritual treasure (the law), and Jesus wants his disciples to avail themselves of that treasure. This is in keeping with Jesus’ earlier statement, “Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Cf. Matt. 5:17). But he says further “but don’t do their works”. This is the point! The teaching of the scribes and Pharisees may be sound but their personal example is abominable. When it comes to teaching; nothing is as effective as a good example and nothing as corrosive as a bad example. There is always a problem of reconciling orthodoxy with practice. Teachers of faith have a special responsibility to be models of the behaviors and morals they teach. Their personal conduct should provide visible lessons. But the scribes and Pharisees fail to practice what they preach. Their lack of integrity undermines their work. They were so interested in personal honor and respect that they lost the vision of their call- to provide in “words and deeds” counsel on spiritual matters to people, who don’t have the opportunity to study the law day-and-night, who are often illiterate and who would not have access to the precious scrolls even if they could read. For people to see them and accord them respect, “they make their phylacteries broad; enlarge the fringes of their garments” The Phylacteries and the tassels refer to two aspects of Jewish traditions prescribed by the Law of Moses. The Phylacteries are small leather boxes containing one or more scrolls inscribed with passages of scripture that are placed on the left forearm and forehead. Tassels were worn on the corners of the garments. They serve as constant reminder of God’s law and commandments. The problem is not that they wear these things as demanded by the law, but that they seek personal honor for doing so. They wear especially large phylacteries and long tassels to draw attention to their scrupulous observance when they do not observe the inner contents of the Law. It is only external show without interior practice. The Phylacteries and tassels are like stained glass windows or icons intended to help people understand deeper spiritual things. Jesus’ warning against these things resonates with us today.
Fr Sylvester Ajunwa
October 29, 2017
At the beginning of the month of November as the days are becoming shorter and nature seems to go to sleep the Church remembers those who have gone before us. Gone where? The feast of ll saints is an occasion to thank God for those great Christians throughout the centuries who have lived the Gospel in a radical way and also for all the wonderful people we have met in our lives and who have reflected to us something of the goodness and beauty of God. As we reflect about the “the last things”, let us begin by clarifying a misunderstanding. In the creed, which we pray at every Sunday mass we say that Jesus after his death and resurrection “descended into hell”. In the liturgical renewal after the Vatican Council this phrase was translated “He descended to the dead” as we also say in the German Mass text “Er stieg hinab in das Reich des Todes”. This is a more correct translation that reflects the world view of people in ancient, pre-scientific times. They imagined the earth to be like a house, the sky being the “roof” and it was the realm of the living. Above it was the realm of the god’s or for Christians the one God. And below it was a dark and unfriendly place where the dead dwelt. In Greek it is called hades, in Hebrew sheol. The second letter of St Peter speaks of “the spirits in prison” to whom Jesus “went to preach” (1 Pet 3:19). It is a way of saying that the saving power of the cross and resurrection of Jesus is open to all, even the many generations that lived and died before him. Jesus died for all, for the whole of humanity, past, present and future. Death is a mystery. If you have ever been present when a person dies you will have felt that strange sensation how from one moment to the next what was a living person has become a lifeless matter. Where has the person gone? “Where is granny now?” children will ask their parents. It is a question that is hard to answer, because at death we leave the world of time and space. The best answer would be: Granny is with God. Like God, who is Spirit, is nowhere (cannot be fixed to a definite place) and at the same time everywhere. The dead are nowhere and yet everywhere, they are with us. The church speaks of three “places”: purgatory, heaven and hell. We imagine them to be places because we think of everything as being in a place. But in fact, purgatory, heaven and hell are not places, but ways of being. Poets and painters have depicted purgatory as a place of physical torture. But is means rather a process of purification. When we die we are not perfect. Yes, we do love God, but not yet with our whole heart, soul and mind, as the first and most important commandment tells us. Part of us is still selfish. But God is pure love. So, whatever is not love in us we will have to let go. That is a painful process, but it is a spiritual pain, a process that is meant to make us fit for heaven, capable of enjoying the fullness of life in the presence of God who is love.
Fr Wolfgang Schonecke
October 1, 2017
A lady went to the post office to mail a Bible to an old friend. She wrote on the box the warning: “Fragile!” The postal clerk asked, “Is there anything breakable in here?” “Yes,” she replied. “It contains the Ten Commandments”. Sin is always a violation of God’s commandments. It practically means saying no to God. You and I have all been hurt by promises given and then broken. Some of us have been given sweet talk and words of love only to later discover that we were, in the name of love, only used. The two sons in the parable today disobeyed their father. The first son said ‘no’, but later decided to obey his father. The second son said ‘yes’, but did not do what his father told him to do. In effect, it was also a ‘no’. Both of them offended the father. The ‘yes’ of the second son, though it initially pleased the father, was rendered meaningless by his disobedience. The ‘no’ of the first son hurt the father, but his subsequent repentance and obedience made the father happy in the end. Ultimately, it is not the words that really matter, but the deed. Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Mt 7:21). Many times, we have heard these phrases: “Talk is cheap, it’s actions that count.” “You have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.” “Actions speak louder than words,” etc. In fact, there is no need for words when there are actions. So, when we do not do what we say, as in the case of the second son, our words lose credibility. And at that point it could be said of us that “our actions are too loud that people cannot hear our words.” The parable of Jesus this Sunday was intended for the religious leaders of Israel in his time, particularly the Pharisees. In their self-righteousness, they believed they were assured of entrance into heaven. But Jesus told them: “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you” (Mt 21:31). They are the religious leaders who have clearly expressed their ‘yes’ to God. But based on their behavior and attitude, their hypocrisy and pride, their lack of concern for the people and their double-standard lifestyle, they have actually disobeyed God’s will and commands. They are like the second son in the parable. On the other hand, the tax collectors, prostitutes and other public sinners can be like the first son. They said ‘no’ to God, but eventually, they listened to the teachings of Jesus, and reformed their lives. This is what the prophet Ezekiel pointed out in the first reading: “But if the wicked turn from the wickedness they did and do what is right and just, they shall save their lives; since they turned away from all the sins they committed, he shall live; they shall not die” (Ezk. 18:27-28). Now, how do these affect us? What further lessons do we learn from these characters? The first son had no intention of working and then had the honesty of saying so to his father. He was wrong, but he was honest. The second son was the opposite. He said the convenient thing to his father knowing what his father wanted to hear, but he had no integrity. He was insincere because he had no intention of working even though he said he would. The questions I need to ask myself here are: How honest am I? What kind of promises do I make to people? What sorts of prayer do I offer? Sometimes, we can be so bizarre that in prayers we give God the words we think He wants to hear from us. It’s convenient for us. We go about deceiving ourselves when we speak them, feeling like we are pious and religious. On the surface, we feel righteous, but deep down we know full well that we are not going to follow through on those words with our deeds and actions. So we give God our Father in heaven nice sounding words, but never seem to get around to following through on them. Remember, God is never fooled. Now, between the two sons, which of them should we follow? The answer comes from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians in the second reading: we follow neither the first son, nor the second son. Rather, we follow the third son: the one who said “yes” and obeyed the will of the heavenly Father even unto death. He is Jesus Christ. So, Saint Paul exhorts us: “Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5). The duties and responsibilities of Christian life are fulfilled not by talking but by doing, not by words but by action. When Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, someone told him: “ Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” But Jesus looked around and asked, “Who is my mother? And who are my brothers?” And pointing to his disciples, he said: “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Mt. 12:48-50). It is in doing and obeying God’s will that makes us true brothers and sisters of Jesus. Words do not mean anything when they are not accompanied by actions.
Fr Sylvester Ajunwa